Rangel vs. Sharpton

In the past, Rangel has sided with Democratic Party favorites over Sharpton. | AP Photos

In 2010, as he faced scrutiny for a number of ethics charges, Rangel stepped down as chairman of the powerful Ways and Means Committee. He was later censured by the House. President Barack Obama publicly advised Rangel at the time to end his career “with dignity.” In the current race, neither the president nor newly elected New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio have come to the congressman’s defense.

Sharpton, meanwhile, hosts popular radio and cable TV shows and enjoys access to the Obama White House and to de Blasio.

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A Rangel defeat would dramatically alter New York City’s black power structure, Espaillat believes — putting Sharpton front and center in a way he hasn’t been before.

“I think he would fill the shoes” of Rangel, Espaillat said of Sharpton.

“He’s visible. He’s national now. Certainly he’s a friend of Obama’s. Obama and him have a good working relationship.”

With Rangel gone, Sharpton would also wield greater influence over a congressional seat rich with historical significance, representing a district long seen as the center of the black cultural experience. Sharpton has connections to Espaillat, whom he’s endorsed in a previous race, and to Walrond, a friend and ally.

Rangel’s rivals couldn’t be happier about his inability to win over Sharpton. While Rangel is a fixture to many of the older voters in the upper Manhattan-based district, he’s less well known among its rapidly swelling younger set — a group Sharpton could help him with.

“I’m sure the congressman would like to have his support, and that has not happened,” Espaillat said. “As an interested observer of this race, I think [Sharpton] is a political force, particularly in Harlem. And whatever he says and thinks will have an impact on the race.”

People close to Sharpton say he would have little to gain by making a public endorsement. Choosing someone other than Espaillat would risk alienating the Hispanic community at a time when Sharpton is trying to bring attention to the cause of immigration reform.

But, to many here, it’s clear where his allegiance lies. Several of his closest associates have contributed to Walrond. And during a recent appearance at First Corinthian Baptist Church in Harlem, where Walrond serves as pastor, Sharpton sharply rebutted the idea that Rangel should be given a free path.

“There is no sacred seat for nobody,” Sharpton told the audience.

Walrond, 42, is billing himself as a candidate with appeal to the district’s younger voters. As he sipped coffee at a hip Harlem cafe, filled with 20-somethings and 30-somethings, he told the story of his relationship with the reverend.

Walrond, who is married with two children, said he met Sharpton shortly after he arrived in New York City in 2004 and he had begun working at First Corinthian Baptist Church. Sharpton, he said, took him to dinner and asked if there was any way he could be helpful. In 2012, Sharpton asked him to sit on the National Action Network board. The two would later tour the country together to talk about voting rights.

“Our relationship was really like a friendship. He saw me like a little brother in many ways. He would tell people, ‘This is my little brother.’”

In early 2012, Walrond told Sharpton that he was interested in running for Rangel’s seat. The reverend didn’t object, he said. He said that Sharpton has offered him encouragement during the course of the race but that he had steered clear of giving the candidate strategic advice.

The idea that Sharpton or anyone else had planted him in the race to split votes from Rangel, Walrond said, is “insane.”

Rangel isn’t giving up on winning over younger voters. On a recent Saturday afternoon, the congressman showed up at an outdoor street fair. Taking the stage, he danced with surprising agility to salsa music blaring over loudspeakers. Many people in the crowd, both young and old, whooped with delight.

“I was told if I got up here and started dancing, I could take one of the girls home with me,” he said to laughter. “But my wife, even after 60 years of marriage — I still don’t think she’d understand.”

After the event, Rangel brushed off questions about Sharpton and whether he’d be able to win his support.

“Listen, all I know is that I have been with Al Sharpton since he was a young man. We’ve marched up and down Lenox Avenue,” he said. “When he got arrested, I was with him. He would tell you that when he was in jail, nobody visited him more than me … When he said, ‘Let’s go, I need ya,’ I was there, if it meant getting arrested. I don’t have any problem with the love, affection and support that Rev. Sharpton has for me.”

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story misstated the office Adriano Espaillat and Keith Wright ran for in 2005.